Future Tense Newsletter: Back to the Future (Tense)

This is no imaginary story! No hoax! It’s Oct. 21, 2015, the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to in Back to the Future Part II. Though its vision of tomorrow remains influential, it’s really a movie about the dangers of trying to predict the future. But that’s not going to stop us from wondering when we’re going to get those hoverboards. If you really want to understand how the movie constructed its version of 2015, listen carefully to its slang. And if you’re still not sated, check out these other time terrific time-travel movies.